ISIS, the Islamic militant group rampaging through Iraq and Syria, has been hitting the headlines recently. However, Isis is also the name for a mobile wallet which has announced a rebranding since it doesn’t want to be associated with terrorists.

The Isis mobile wallet
is a joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon in the
mobile payment space. The app, which works on Android and iPhone, was
created in 2010

When choosing the company name four years ago, the heads of the
group were looking for a brand that would “help consumers
find a safer and better way to shop, pay and save,”said Isis CEO Michael Abbott in a statement
released on the company’s official website.

“We wanted a name that brought to life our company and our
values. Above all, we wanted a brand that captured the simplicity
of our mobile wallet experience. We chose Isis," he said
because of its association with the Egyptian goddess of nature
and magic.

However, recently the company has noticed that they were not the
only people using the name of the ancient goddess. The radical
militant group ISIS – Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – which is
now ravaging cities across Iraq and Syria has become notorious in
the world.

Abbot added that the Isis mobile wallet company doesn’t want to
be “linked to sectarian violence against civilians and
government forces in Iraq and Syria.”

“We have no interest in sharing a name with a group whose
name has become synonymous with violence and our hearts go out to
those who are suffering. As a company, we have made the decision
to rebrand,” said Michael Abbott, Isis CEO.

The new name has not been announced yet, but Abbott said that the
company is “working on a new brand.”

“Changing a brand is never easy, but we know this is the
right decision – for our company, our partners and our
customers,” he said.

The mobile wallet is not the only company that bears the same
name as the Islamic militants. A British technology transfer
company owned by the University of Oxford is also called Isis.
ISIS is also the acronym for the Institute for Science and
International Security, a think tank which informs the public
about "science and policy issues affecting international
security.”

However, the decision of the mobile wallet to change their name
comes after the ISIS militants “rebranded,” too! On June
29, ISIS jihadists declared the captured territories from Iraq's
Diyala province to Syria's Aleppo a new Islamic State - a
‘caliphate.' They removed 'Iraq and the Levant' from
their name.